Good month of books! To be honest, American Gods took up most of the month, but it was worth it. Despite being a little heavy on the characters and page count, I liked how it ended. The tv show is meandering even more, but I know it is going to be more than one season. I hope it works out because I loved how it started. I hope it keeps up momentum, but I also hope it gets out and gets to come to as awesome of a conclusion.

It was a good reading month. It was all romance so pretty fast-reading books. Most were old and I felt like catching up on the series. I learned I'm not too into New Adult fiction. I really liked Maya Banks Highlander series, but then I found out it stalled after two books, but there is rumor a third may eventually be released. Fingers crossed!Movies watched in April 2017

Let's see. I read a lot of sexy books this month, the HelenKay Dimon was m/m romance. I liked them. It was more realistic suspense. I had wanted to read The Handmaid's Tale again for years, and the new TV show and the new administration inspired me. I got a lot more out of it this time around than in high school.

Movies ran the gamut. Little Miss really liked Beauty and the Beast. I liked the little moments and some of the added moments, but it wasn't quiet as good as the animated film. I'd still buy it and rewatch though - if only to watch the parts I missed while bringing Little Miss to the bathroom.

Little Miss wore her Belle gown to the movie. We also met my friend's baby for the first time who also had the same dress so we got the cutest photo ever!

I tried this recipe this past weekend for my sister, the bourbon drinker. You can find it here. First of all, I cut the bourbon recipe in half so it was 1 stick of butter and a half bottle of bourbon. I used 8 TBS of the butter (the whole batch) and doubled the veggies. It made way more, but then I didn't have leftover butter or wasted bourbon. It says you can reuse the butter-infusede bourbon but ew. I thought it was a weird mix with the cauliflower, but it mixed well with the sweet corn. My sister and I think it would be better with corn and maybe onions or red bell peppers, veggies that take to the sweet better. It's all about the butter though.Corn and Cauliflower Sauteed in Bourbon Butter

4 tablespoons Bourbon-Infused Butter, recipe follows

1/2 head cauliflower, cored and cut into bite-sized florets

2 ears corn, kernels cut off the cob

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Butter-Infused Bourbon and Bourbon-Infused Butter

One 750-milliliter bottle good-quality bourbon

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter

Directions

Melt the Bourbon-Infused Butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cauliflower and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender and golden in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the corn, 3/4 teaspoons salt and some pepper, and continue to cook, stirring often, until the corn is just cooked through, about 4 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with the parsley.

Butter-Infused Bourbon and Bourbon-Infused Butter:

Combine the bourbon and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until the butter melts. Transfer to a container and freeze until the butter has solidified. Remove the large piece of bourbon-infused butter and reserve, refrigerated in an airtight container, for cooking. Strain the bourbon through a fine-meshed sieve and coffee filter to remove any remaining particles of butter. Return the butter-infused bourbon to its original bottle and keep frozen to use in cocktails for up to one month.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Awhile ago, I bought tomato soup from La Madeleine. Today, during the snow day, I heated it up. Little Miss asked to try it and then ate a bowl. She liked it, but she probably has similar tomato soup taste as I. I basically want tomato sauce. I want it savory and thick, not sweet. It was delicious. I'm glad she's trying new things - and even liking some! We'll get there. I just need to be patient while she finds her dietary way.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Honestly, I don't care what the new food is as long as she keeps trying new foods. We went to NYC last weekend where we had a blast. Little Miss saw her first Broadway play. Plus, she did a little shopping at Madison Square Garden. No lie she has worn this knit cap every day (even the 70 degree days) since the trip. She's only really taken it off to eat and shower and sleep.

We traveled through lunch and had early dinner reservations so we decided just to nosh. Little Miss had a piece of cake. The adults ordered truffle fries and mozzarella sticks. So, Little Miss decided to try fried cheese and marinara sauce. So, duh, of course she loved it. However, neither one of the kids is a big french fry fan so there's no obvious likes or dislikes here.

I adored A Man Called Ove - so much that I'm watching the Swedish movie. We also watched The Lego Movie and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief which I've already watched. Trolls was super cute and already a family favorite.

I decided to start listing our Sunday Family Movies. Every Sunday, we make pancakes and watch a movie as a family. Most of the time, Little Miss chooses, but we sometimes take turns. I saw Hidden Figures in the theater with Mom and Sister which was fun. The books were all pretty solid, fast reads. Three romance and one memoir - all enjoyable.

Husband makes chicken piccata and roasted broccoli often. There was no reason Little Miss wouldn't like it so, this past weekend, she gave it a shot and ate a whole piece and asked for more. She picked off the capers, but so did I so no complaints there. She's been doing really well trying new things or at least giving them a shot. Sometimes, just explaining what's in the food or why she would like it helps. Throwing in some desserts help, too, even if she doesn't always like them. None of always likes new things, but, as I tell her, it's the trying that helps.

Friday, February 17, 2017

Sometimes, you throw the kid a soft ball. So, today, we made fudge. It was 2 1/2 cups semi-sweet morsels, 14oz sweetened condensed milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract microwaved until spreadable in 30 second increments. Then, you place Kit Kats on top and chill. Pretty simple. Obviously, Little Miss enjoyed. You can find the recipe here.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

The lemon bars were deemed to "lemony". Next time, the pastry should bake longer, but they came out ok. I snagged the recipe from here.

Lemon bars

IngredientsFor the pastry base

1 cup cold butter cut in small pieces

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

For the lemon layer

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup flour

4 eggs

zest of two lemons very finely chopped

cup juice of 2 lemons about 2/3 to 3/4 juice

Instructions
To make the pastry base

Using a pastry cutter or in a food processor blend together the butter sugar and flour.
Press evenly into the bottom of a greased and parchment paper lined 9×13 inch baking pan.
Bake for 20 to minutes at 350 degrees F ( 325 degrees F if you are using glass bake-ware) The bottom should just be beginning to brown slightly at the top edges.

For the lemon topping
Simply whisk together the sugar flour, eggs, zest and lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved.
Allow the topping to sit for about 10 minutes before whisking together well again and pouring over the baked shortbread base.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about another 20- 25 minutes or until the top is slightly browned and the custard appears to be set. Cool completely. Sprinkle with icing sugar when cool or try adding a meringue topping.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Little Miss decided on pork loin, but I couldn't find one in the store. With more planning, I think she would have enjoyed a roast pork loin with maybe a sweet sauce/glaze. However, we ended up quickly baking up some pork chops. She said they tasted fine, but she didn't like all the chewing. They were the most moist pork chops I'd ever baked, too. So, it's on the maybe list. We'll try it again. So far, we're keeping up with it though. We are cheating. Little Miss has had pork, even pork chops, before, but it's not plain chicken or pasta so we're going with it. She chose uncooked carrots as her side which is fine by me. I don't care how she eats her veggies as long as she does.

Saturday, January 21, 2017

A very small part of me wanted to March, but I can hardly stand the Metro during rush hour, and chaos and crowds give me anxiety. So, I stayed home, went to Cheesetique and had some wine and mac and cheese, bought more wine and cheese to bring home and then baked. In addition to fudge, I made pink cupcakes in honor of those who marched. They weren't fancy, just funfetti with dyed frosting (6 drops of red and one drop of blue). I added a little glitter because glitter makes everything better.

Sunday, January 15, 2017

This week, I made chicken teriyaki, jasmine rice, and green beans sauteed in toasted sesame oil and shallots (I added a little water and covered to steam them because they weren't cooking very fast). I've made these before (see blog recipe though last time I used snow peas instead of green beans), but Little Miss never tried it.

This received thumbs up! Plus, she said she'd eat it again. Captain was not into it. He picked out the rice and didn't eat anything else.

Monday, January 9, 2017

No new food this week. Little Miss has a touch of the stomach bug. Captain took good care of her. While she was in the bathroom, he was told not to go in there, but he sat right at the door and offered her everything he could think of. He later brought her tissues at her request. He kept bringing her books. He was very concerned and asked, "Laura, all right?" Then, when she didn't answer, he looked at me and said, "Mama, help." It was so precious. He's missed his playmate quite a bit and has been extra snuggly with us to make up for it. He had Husband read him many books and snuggled hard this morning with me. His sister will be back to normal soon and everything will right itself.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Little Miss received The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook for Christmas. We decided to resurrect the New Food of the Week. And this time, we mean it. To help us keep accountable, I thought I'd revamp the blog and record our findings. The first dish is an easy one - fried eggs and bacon. I let the eggs fry a bit longer to avoid the gooey yolk. I also scrambled a couple of eggs as a back up in case she did not like them. She did not. She ate the egg whites and the the scrambled egg on reserve. Obviously, the bacon was a hit as that wasn't a true new food.
Originally, the thought was to go through the book chronologically, but there's a whole chapter on sauces and such so we decided to randomly pick recipes. We'll see what she chooses for next week!
As when we first started this venture, it still helps that she chooses the food and also helps that she makes it with me. She pretty much made the entire egg portion this week.
P.S. The serving size was 2 pieces of bacon which I thought was ridiculous. I gave each kid 3 pieces to look like a hero. I did not dole out the bonus bacon until after the fried egg was tried though.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Very good month! Little Miss and I saw The BFG. She enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought it was ok. After a year of deciding if I was a big enough girl to watch Deadpool, I sucked it up and did it. It wasn't as violent as I thought. Plus, it was super funny. We won't talk about how much I cried in The Good Dinosaur. I thought it was underrated and super cute though even if it calls back many other Disney movies. Husband and I went to see Bad Moms, and we loved it. It is hilarious.

Friday, September 9, 2016

August was really busy! The first weekend, Husband and I traveled to New Jersey for a wedding while the kids stayed home with the in-laws - and their cousins. We hit the track on Friday night to lose a few bucks. We had a nice dinner. Then, the next day, we had a wedding to attend. It was a beautiful wedding. Between, we grabbed some drinks before going to the country club for a lot of eating and drinking. We visited with some of the Husband's family before heading back on Sunday.

The next weekend, we took off for vacation with the in-laws. The older nephew and Little Miss went up a day before. We met them the next day. It was a beautiful week of sun and sand. We did a lot of eating. The kids loved the water - both the ocean and the pool. I still feel like I'm recovering.The kids really loved spending time with their cousins. They little ones are really getting much better at playing together and interacting. They still need to be watched because Captain can be kind of mean sometimes. He's used to being the darling baby of the group, but he turns into such bully, not wanting to share any attention. Then, sometimes, when you're not looking, the two of them play so nicely.

The last weekend, Husband and I went to La Tasca and had sangria and paella. The sangria was delicious. We definitely need to do that more often. Then, we saw John Oliver! It was amazing. He's one of my favorite personalities/comedians. After we saw a friend from college and her wife, and then we grabbed drinks with a former co-worker. It was a lot of fun and full of adult, grown up things.

The next day was another wedding! It was the last of the season. The wedding was lovely. We grabbed a drink after with another couple before we went to the reception where we had a blast. After, we were like entirely different people and went to the after party until we shut the bar down. I haven't done that in I don't know how long.

That said, we are definitely ready for the routine of school to start up again. I think our busy summer was great - and fast - but there's sometime comforting in the routine of the Fall. We have some plans we'd like to carry out in the Fall so it'll be something to look forward to.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

I don't know how, but Little Miss is entering the third grade!
This morning, she got up early, got ready on time, did her own hair for goodness' sake. She was a little nervous, but I know she'll do great. I can't wait to hear all about it. It's still gratifying to see brand new school supplies - backpack, lunch bag, and water bottle all clean and shiny!
Captain was not excited. He sobbed as she left for school. He's so adored her being with him all summer. They love each other so much.

July went by in a blur. We went to the pool again during the Fourth of July weekend. We did a day at my sister's pool and a day at my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's pool. The next weekend, we celebrated my nephew's birthday at the pool. The third weekend, we spent it at a friend's pool. We only got a good dip in before it started storming, but it was still fun.

The next weekend, my sister had a party. It turns out there was an issue with her marriage paperwork so they got married again (or for the first time). At the party, one of her bridesmaid and I wore our bridemaid dresses again as a little nod. The last weekend, the kids got their haircut and we met my parents for ice cream. Little Miss also went ice skating because that's what we do when it's a billion degrees. Throughout the month, Little Miss continued with her swimming lessons.

Monday, September 5, 2016

June wasn't as busy. Except that first weekend. You know, that weekend my sister got married. It was such a great weekend. The kids were great. The rehearsal dinner ran late. It was fun except the kids stayed up to about midnight so it was rough for them. The day of the wedding, they were with my family so they got to take it easy. It was a really relaxing day. The weather was overcast, but it turned beautiful for the wedding itself. The mint green photographed so nice. The kids had a great time. Little Miss danced her tail off. Captain loved eating everything. The in-laws picked up Captain from the reception so he could get to sleep. Little Miss opted to stay the entire evening and spend the night with my family and her cousin. Captain was co-flower girl. He loved throwing the flower petals - and then he tried to pick them all up afterwards.

The second weekend in June, it was my birthday. On Friday, I had drinks with friends after work and then we went to see Me Before You. It wasn't the happiest birthday movie, but we enjoyed it. The next night, we did a big dinner with the in-laws as a belated Mother's Day/Father's Day celebration. On Sunday, we went to the pool where the kids were starting to enjoy the water. The swimming lessons Little Miss has been taking have started to pay off and Captain wasn't as afraid of the water.

The third weekend was a nice, relaxing one. We did nothing of note. I'm not even sure we did swimming lessons.

The last weekend, we mostly just took walks and went to the library. Captain loves the activity cube there, and Little Miss picked out books and signed up for the summer reading program. She didn't really finish the program, but it's only because it's based on the number of books you read, not the number of pages. She chose this summer to get into the Harry Potter series which is a lot of reading, but it's not a lot of number of books. The last week in June, Little Miss and I also went to Barnes & Noble for a Harry Potter celebration. She wore her Hermione costume and participated in trivia. She talked me into buying her chocolate frogs. We also had a nice dinner together before heading home. It was nice to have some girl time with her, and Harry Potter has been bringing us together.

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Little Miss has started taking swimming lessons earlier this year. A co-worker and friend taught swimming in a previous professional life, and she gets along really well with Little Miss. There has been such progress in the last few months, it's been unbelievable. Little Miss puts her face in the water and floats and does rudimentary swimming.

Captain, in his way of copying his sister, also has been trying to swim. He loves the water. I missed it, but allegedly, an older girl (of around 4 years of age) was inflating his ego before swimming away. Big Captain decided to dive off the pool stairs and follow her, forgetting he did not know how to swim. Husband had to pluck him out of the water and got side eye for the rest of the night for holding Captain back. We'll look into getting him some lessons before next summer or at least visit our inside pool more in the off-season.

Friday, September 2, 2016

May seems like months ago - because it was. May and June were ridiculously busy for us (as was the rest of the summer honestly). The first weekend, we had our annual Kentucky Derby party. It was on the small side this year, but we still cooked about the same amount of food. We watched the race and then played Cards Against Humanity which was a lot of fun - good group. On Sunday, we had the in-laws over for a cook out. Our apartment added a few grills and gave us a proper patio so we tried that out for the first time.

The second weekend was our nephew's birthday. It was a lot of fun. Captain enjoyed the food, and Little Miss enjoyed ruling all the kids around her as the oldest. It was a day of fun and chaos as all children's birthday parties are. The next day was the Taste of Arlington. Captain tried a soba salad which I thought was a little too strong for me, but he loved it. The lotus root always creeps me out, but he ate it up. The wind took his plate which made him sob, but I bought him another. Little Miss mostly liked rock climbing and gathering as much free stuff as she could. She had swimming, and then we actually went back to the Taste of Arlington where we scored free food from some vendors.

The third weekend we did the Fun Fair at the elementary school. Little Miss loves being around her friends. She got her face painted, tried her hand at the cake walk (many times), and loved seeing her teachers outside of school hours. The next day, we did Truck & Bus Day. It rained, but that didn't stop Captain from freaking out all over the bus and trucks and other vehicles. Little Miss also really enjoys this event. After, I took the kids to book club and then we all went to get frozen yogurt and then ended up at my parents' for a jam packed weekend!

The last weekend of May, Memorial Day, we just ran errands, had more frozen yogurt, and went to the pool. It was a little chilly for the pool, but that didn't stop the kids from staying in until it started raining. All in all, it was a good month.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

I've been making the most of the Starz app and watching all the new movies. Not much for a movie month. It's because we're so behind on our TV on the DVR, that's what we've been concentrating on. Spoiler, next month is even more pathetic (and May has just started, but I don't see any time to watch anything). Still, Ant Man was so much better than I expected, and Tomorrowland had George Clooney. It wasn't bad, but I thought the message was a little heavy-handed. Still, I thought the cast was great at the very least.

We did some easy, fast cooking for the party - all repeat food. However, I had grand plans to make these Butter Cake Cookies. Nobody ever eats cake, but who can resist a cookie? Turns out, I ran out of time, but I made them the next day. They are absolutely delicious!
Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies
Serves: 24 cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
•1 cup butter, room temperature
•1 cup granulated sugar
•2 eggs
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•2 teaspoons baking powder
•½ tsp salt
•3 cups all purpose flour
Glaze•¼ cup butter
•½ cup granulated sugar
•1 tablespoon water
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•optional ~ powdered sugar to dust
Instructions
Cookies1.Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C
2.Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. Set aside.
3.In the bowl of the stand mixer beat butter and sugar together for 1 minute until mixed. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated, scraping sides as necessary.
4.Add in baking powder and salt, continuing to mix and finally the flour. Mix until dough just comes together.
5.Using a medium (2 tablespoon) cookie scoop drop the dough onto the lined baking sheet. Alternately you can roll the dough into balls if you want a thicker cookie.
6.Bake for 9-11 minutes until the edges are slightly golden. Don't over-bake.
Glaze1.While the cookies are baking combine all ingredients into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir continuously until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Do not bring to a boil.
2.Allow the glaze to cool slightly (about 5 minutes) to thicken.
3.When the cookies are done spoon one teaspoon of the glaze onto each cookie while they're warm. If the glaze gets too thick just heat it up a bit more.
4.Dust with powdered sugar after the glaze has set if desired.

I really enjoyed All the Light We Cannot See. I got to hear the author speak last month, and that was highly enjoyable. He's such a good speaker, one of the few authors who was just so vibrant yet spent very little time talking about himself or his book(s). He was generous with Q&A and so very smart and intelligent without making you feel stupid because you weren't as smart as he was.I enjoyed the always-enjoyable Jill Shalvis and Julia Quinn. Plus, I found a whole cache of Jaci Burton books. I read these two plus a third in May and still have a novella before I'm all caught up. I'm reading the novella out of order, but I do love making progress on books hanging out in my e-reader. Decent month even if I had more I wanted to get to.

The Family

Where to Find Me

About Me

It seems in this day and age that everyone has a blog. I thought
I'd join the masses. I have to admit I'm quite boring. Most of my
entries will be on everyday observances about the household.
If you'd like to reach me, please feel free to email me at
princessapr.blog@gmail.com.
Thanks for visiting!